Agents?

I've heard this is what an agent's life is like. What do you think?



(Thanks to Rachelle Gardner at WordServe!)

The Book of Names by D. Barkley Briggs

It's time for the Christian Science Fiction Fantasy tour for January. I love being introduced to new books, new authors, new series. It seems that most of the fantasy novels coming out in Christian circles are aimed at a Young Adult audience, and this month's pick, A Book of Names, is not the exception.

In this article, debut author D. Barkley Briggs talks about what draws him to fantasy:

This is the power of speculative fiction. This is the power of fantasy: to capture the mind, to both focus and liberate the emotional, imaginative faculties, to form real and symbolic connections, to viscerally associate yourself with a magical, desirable, grand-scaled life.

He goes into greater detail of what he means in a follow-up post.


The Book of Names thrums of the author's dedication to exploring those fantasy connections while never once bopping the reader on the head and saying: "This is what I want you to get."

Here's a brief introduction to the novel:



Here's what other bloggers are saying: Sally Apokedak, Brandon Barr, Keanan Brand, Rachel Briard, Frank Creed, Amy Cruson, CSFF Blog Tour, Stacey Dale, D. G. D. Davidson, Shane Deal, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Karina Fabian, Andrea Graham, Todd Michael Greene, Timothy Hicks, Joleen Howell, Jason Isbell, Cris Jesse, Jason Joyner, Carol Keen, Magma, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Mirtika, Eve Nielsen, Nissa, Steve Rice, Crista Richey, Alice M. Roelke, Chawna Schroeder, James Somers, Rachel Starr Thomson, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith, Jason Waguespac, Phyllis Wheeler, Timothy Wise

The Store Wars!

Here is Cuke Skywalker: "May the Farm be with you!"

FlyLady

Have you ever wondered what FlyLady is all about?

FlyLady @ Yahoo! Video

Sailing

I thought I'd share some of the research I've done today. Yes, there are sailing ships in Tempest!

You are worth the time--youtube

When you need to remember why the urge to create *art* (in whatever form you define art!) drives you so much, and when you wonder if you should take the time to feed that longing, watch this (about 7 minutes):

Had to share!

What do YOU think of all the fonts out there? College Humor decided to let us know what goes on at a Font Conference.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Marketing Novels

In case you wanted to know how to promote your new novel, should any of us be so lucky--here is the latest wisdom out there.



Oh, did I forget to mention you shouldn't be eating or drinking while watching this? I found this over at Pub Rants.

Learning to YouTube!

Here's a teensy clip of Dragon's Mouth Spring in Yellowstone:



This is the first time I ever used my camera to produce a video clip!



And the second. Geysers lend themselves to it. I wish now I'd used the feature more!